Spinal fixation has conventionally been carried out using one or more spinal rods held in place adjacent a patient's spine through the use of a number of pedicle screw assemblies. In this regard, a conventional pedicle screw assembly typically includes a bone screw (driven into the pedicle) and a receiver element (or head) mated thereto (e.g., mated in such a manner as to permit multi-axial positioning). Further, the receiver element is typically configured to receive and hold the spinal rod.
Among those benefits and improvements that have been disclosed, other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures constitute a part of this specification and include illustrative embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.